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City plans tickets for double-parked trucks
by Rick DeClue · News · August 28, 2014
The City Council last week told the police department it is time to begin writing tickets to truck drivers who park illegally on Fawcett Drive while waiting to enter Procter & Gamble.
City Administrator Matt Muckler said the police department should begin issuing tickets immediately for double-parking while he organizes a meeting with West Branch Site Leader Cheryl Fischer and city engineer Dave Schechinger to discuss a long-term solution.
A representative of P&G said the company is willing to work with the city to resolve the issue.
At the Aug. 18 meeting, Police Chief Mike Horihan told the council that he receives one or two calls per week concerning the semi-trucks and trailers parked on the roadway.
Horihan said both the north and south sides of Fawcett are no-parking zones. The shoulders are soft, so the trucks cannot pull off the travelled surface. Complicating the situation is a rise about six truck-lengths east of the entrance that can block visibility of oncoming traffic, he added.
Brian Neuberger, who lives one mile due east of the P&G plant, told the council that he and his wife have trouble with the parked trucks, and that he forwards a photo to the city every 10 days or so. He cited the danger of passing the trucks, especially over the rise.
“It’s worse during bad weather or when the sun is in your eyes early in the morning or late in the afternoon,” he said.
Neuburger told the council this represented exposure to the city. He said West Branch would be negligent if there was an accident and the city had done nothing after receiving complaints about the situation.
At 1:50 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 22, this reporter counted 13 trucks lined up in the eastbound lane of Fawcett, with another half dozen trucks surrounding the guard shack, just inside the entrance to P&G’s facility. Within 20 minutes, the number of trucks on the roadway had shrunk to five. That line ended just east of the rise.
Horihan said the trucks are scheduled by P&G, but that the actual arrivals are inexact. P&G has multiple entrance lanes around a “guard shack,” which sometimes leads to the trucks being double- or even triple-parked as they position themselves to enter the plant, according to the chief.
He showed a picture, provided by Neuburger, of trucks double parked on the road surface, which left approximately six to eight feet for both westbound traffic on Fawcett and eastbound traffic moving left across the center line to pass the trucks.
“There is no place in that area to park a large number of trucks, and the addition of the Altorfer and Clean Energy facilities is going to bring more trucks,” the chief said. “A couple of trucks are OK, a dozen or more is a problem. The trucks are not present all the time.”
Past conversations with P&G have produced mixed results, Horihan said after the meeting.
“Sometimes things will improve for thirty days or so,” he said. “Sometimes they say ‘it’s not our problem.’”
Iowa City Plant Manager Michael Hughes, who spoke for the West Branch distribution center, said trucks come from a variety of different companies.
“We are looking into all those options now,” he said. “P&G is committed to working with our business partners, local officials and residents to improve the traffic situation near the West Branch distribution center.”
Schechinger told the council that when P&G built their second building on the site, the company planned an additional guard shack and alternative route for trucks to enter from the south side of the property off Council Street.
The site even has reinforced concrete for the anticipated truck parking resulting from the alternate route, he added, but the additional guard shack has never been built.
Mayor Mark Worrell took the council further into the past, saying the northern property line of the P&G site along Fawcett was designed to anticipate a double-wide turning lane for trucks before the first P&G building was constructed.
Worrell said P&G opted not to pay for the turn lanes, because they were not sure how much of a problem it would be at the time.
Council member Brian Pierce suggested the city provide some notice to P&G prior to writing tickets in light of their relationship with West Branch and importance to the local economy.
Member Colton Miller disagreed on one point. “If they are double-parked, write them a ticket,” he said.
Worrell asked Muckler to work with Horihan to bring a recommendation for ticketing to the next council meeting.
Muckler said he would also contact P&G to begin discussions for a longer-term solution.
“The time has come,” said Worrell.
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